Poker Freerolls
Online freerolls are great for earning some cash without risking a dime in buy-ins.
Freeroll tournaments are offered at all good poker sites and it's quite possible to grab
some easy money as you test out a new site or are learning the game from the ground
up.
Most top poker rooms will have a daily or weekly freeroll tournament with a guaranteed
prizepool worth $1,000 or more, so there's usually somewhere to play risk-free.
Why playing online freerolls can be good for your poker:
- Practise new games or test out new poker sites
- Earn free cash without risking a precious buy-in
- Qualify for major live tournaments on the cheap
How to Find Good Freerolls
The best freeroll tournaments online will have solid prizepools but beware; they will
also have hundreds or thousands of players too.
That can be a good thing, of course. A lot of freeroll players means a site is
well-populated, and more importantly, trusted. Regular juicy freerolls are the sign of a
healthy online room.
New Depositor Freerolls
Poker sites are desperate for your custom; that's why as a new customer you might find
yourself given certain privileges, like exclusive freerolls.
'New Depositor' freerolls reward players who make their first deposit at a site. You'll
find these tournaments at a lot of US-facing sites who are particularly keen to attract
and keep players.
New Depositor freerolls can offer anything from $500 to $2,000 in prizepool cash, making
them a great option if you're looking for a good deal. On top of that, you can take
advantage of whatever deposit bonus the site offers.
Qualify For Live Tournaments
While freerolls can be good for getting a feel for poker software or testing your skills,
they're also great for achieving something much bigger: big event buy-ins.
From the WSOP and WPT to the EPT and beyond, you don't need $10,000 to play with the
pros; every good poker site offers online qualifiers so you can win a live seat
cheaply.
Many satellites begin at the micro-stakes levels; some even begin with nothing more than
a few Player Points in the bank.
Check the satellite finals before you start your qualifying journey; some sites will
guarantee one package only for a live event, which includes flights, accommodation and a
tourney buy-in. What you want to do to maximize your profit is find satellites that
guarantee multiple seats and packages.
Building a Bankroll
Whether you're trying to qualify for a big event or testing your poker skills, freerolls
are great for building a small bankroll.
With some simple strategies, you can build a solid roll via the freerolls. After all, if
Chris Ferguson can do it, anyone can.
The former WSOP champion famously turned $0 into $10,000 via freeroll tournaments on
FullTilt. Once he'd earned a few dollars playing freerolls, he moved up into real-money
cash games and Sit 'n Gos using no bigger than 5% of his bankroll for any buy-in.
As well as building his roll, the system taught Ferguson vital bankroll management
skills. Eventually, after a year of play and earning enough to justify buy-ins to a
$10/20 cash game online, Ferguson broke through the $10,000 mark.
Three Top Freeroll Tips
1 - Register For Multiple Accounts
There are so many freerolls available online in 2024, it's worth
opening several poker accounts to take advantage of them all. As well as giving yourself
as many freerolls as possible to play, you can also make good use of the welcome bonuses
available across the net.
2 - Beware the Fishy Players
The first thing you'll notice when playing a freeroll is that the standard of play is a
lot wilder than a real-money tournament. With nothing to risk, players will play fast
and loose, and open with a wide range of hands.
Solid players can get past this by employing a disciplined strategy, opening with premium
hands only early on, and betting strong with made hands after the flop.
It's not uncommon to find fishy players populating these tournaments so being clever or
employing bluffs usually won't cut it; use a sensible ABC gameplan and stick to it.
3 - Keep a Calendar and Set Yourself Challenges
With a lot of freerolls available around the clock, set up a poker calendar on your
desktop so you can track all the best tournaments.
It's worth trying a few challenges too. Set yourself a mission to qualify for a big live
event by starting at the freerolls. It can be done!
